Richard Wright does many things that define his identity, two of which are defying authority and not taking charity. The Jim Crow laws are the laws that separated the blacks and whites in the early to mid 1900s. Their famous slogan, “separate but equal” is not at all true. It is true that they were separate, but not at all true that they were equal. The Jim Crow laws are a big part of Richard’s life, and they affect him in many ways. The reason that Richard defies authority and never takes charity could potentially be because of them. Richard has defied authority figures many times throughout the story. One of which is when he refuses to give his professor's speech during his graduation. Richard’s professor insisted that Richard
